There are many things that Leonardo DiCaprio does well - star in movies directed by Martin Scorsese; wear a suit; protect endangered species; date models - but according to George Clooney, basketball is just not one of them.

It seems the 52-year-old star indulged the younger actor in a game of hoops not too long ago, and in the end, as he tells Esquire magazine in its December issue, he arrived at two conclusions: one, DiCaprio's team talks a lot of trash; and two, they can't back it up.

The story goes that the two A-listers are both basketball fans with homes down in Cabo - as one would have, naturally - and after running into each other there thought they should get around to hitting the court.

DiCaprio, Clooney says, agreed to a game, but assured him that his team is "pretty serious."

To which Clooney responded, "you know, I can play. I’m not great, by any means, but I played high school basketball, and I know I can play. I also know that you don’t talk s*** unless you can play. And the thing about playing Leo (DiCaprio) is you have all these guys talking s***."

Clooney didn't specify how long ago this game occurred, but it couldn't have been too far in the past - he's now 52, and he tells the magazine that he and his teammates were around 50 at the time. Even with their advanced age - DiCaprio is 13 years Clooney's junior - Clooney claims his team still beat the pants off DiCaprio's boys.

"We get there, and there’s this guy, Danny A I think his name is. Danny A is this club kid from New York," Clooney recalls. "And he comes up to me and says, ‘We played once at Chelsea Piers. I kicked your a**.’ I said, ‘I’ve only played at Chelsea Piers once in my life and ran the table. So if we played, you didn’t kick anybody’s a**.’ And so then we’re watching them warm up, and they’re doing this weave around the court, and one of the guys I play with says, ‘You know we’re going to kill these guys, right?’ Because they can’t play at all. We’re all like fifty years old, and we beat them three straight: 11–0, 11–0, 11–0. And the discrepancy between their game and how they talked about their game made me think of how important it is to have someone in your life to tell you what’s what. I’m not sure if Leo has someone like that.”

With details like that, it's not really a surprise that Clooney hasn't taken to Twitter (can you imagine his subtweets?).

As the "Monuments Men" director and star explains, he just doesn't feel comfortable with the potential for 140 characters to completely undo his career.

“If you’re famous, I don’t—for the life of me—I don’t understand why any famous person would ever be on Twitter," Clooney says. "So one drunken night, you come home and you’ve had two too many drinks and you’re watching TV and somebody pisses you off, and you go ‘Ehhhhh’ and fight back. And you go to sleep, and you wake up in the morning and your career is over. Or you’re an a***ole. Or all the things you might think in the quiet of your drunken evening are suddenly blasted around the entire world before you wake up."

Like, for example, how much better he is at basketball than Leonardo DiCaprio.

soundoff(72 Responses)

Why doesn't he just talk about something else like his new move role. Wasn't not to long ago he made comments about his Russell Crowe spat, why does he need to talk about other Hollywood A listers. I really don't care who plays better basketball or what they do with their lives they live, eat, and s**t like everyone else. I appreciate the movies that they make though but that doesn't mean I want to hear everyone's business. All I need to know is what your movie is about and when it comes out, then I'll decide to see it or not.

And kind of a gay comment, too. Gay as in stupid. Everyone knows that straight men have no 'lifestyles.' Just like how we don't wear 'outfits,' or 'hairstyles' because that stuff is for the women. And the gays. Sure, some of us are a**holes, but as you've proven with your statement, Art, so are some of you gay men.

Actually, that's very unlikely, seeing as I have years of experience with using all kinds of weapons safely and responsibly. It's more likely that you, with your hatred of guns and common sense, will be a victim of a home invasion or street mugging from one of your inner city homeys, and will be unable to defend yourself because you are a pu$$y.

How about Leo let George win because George was older? I remember the swimming pool scene in The Year Of Living Dangerously, Mel let the old guy win the challenge. And, George has to brag to the press. Lol.

WELL, PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT--JUST PRACTICE--BESIDES, NO BODY SAYS YOU HAVE TO BE AN ACE ,AT ANY SPORT--–FOR SOME, ENJOYING WATCHING SPORTS ,IS GOOD------NOW, CLOONEY IS A HANDSOME GUY,BUT,I THINK HE NEEDS TO COLOR HIS HAIR AND GET A NEW WAVE SHORT HAIR STYLE-–GREY LOOKS GOOD ON SOME AND MAKES OTHERS LOOK OLDER ,THAN THEY ARE-–HIS GREY, IS MAKING HIM LOOK AND FEEL OLDER--AND, HIS RECENT BREAK UP,I'M SURE HAS IT'S DOWN SIDE--AS FAR AS TWITTER--WELL,SOME, ARE REALLY INTO IT---BUT, LAVISH POLITICAL DINNERS, CAN HAVE IT'S DOWN SIDE ,ALSO---STARS SHOULD REALLY, STAY CLEAR OF POLITICS--THEY'RE INVOLVEMENT ALWAYS MAKES THEM LOOK FOOLISH LATER ON DOWN THE ROAD---BECAUSE, OF THE NATURE OF THE BEAST, IN POLITICS----MAYBE,CLOONEY SHOULD ADOPT A KID--–TO PLAY BASKET BALL WITH-–SERIOUSLY---MAYBE,A TEENAGER, IN NEED OF A COOL DAD--

Always cool to see a guy like Clooney (respected filmmaker/activist) being REAL about Hollywood and its peeps, especially when giving it straight to the most d*ckish of celebrities like Leo DiCaprio. Go on with your 50-something self, George! I'd rather play a game with you than DiCaprio any day.

Uh, did you not read the artcile? He whooped him handedly. And yeah, it's not important news but I found it amusing. He obviously doesn't hate leo, he's just joking around as most guys do with their buddies.

I don't know, joking or not, it seems weird to just publicly humiliate another A-lister regardless of who or what kind of friends he is surrounded by. It's one thing to say that you ran into DiCaprio and you guys played and you won, it's another to describe the pregame, the blowout scores, and then to add insult to injury, talk about the kinds of friends DiCaprio had on his own team. It really sounds more like that Clooney has a disdain for DiCaprio. Something happened or was said that Clooney wanted to publicly embarass him.

Fluff article. Both these guys are sweethearts. I'm sure his tongue was planted deeply in his cheek while discussing Hollywood Hoops. Wouldn't mind having several beers with either or both of them anytime. George? Leo? Call me!

I hear George I'm 52 as well and sometimes I play guys years younger than me. I don't win all the time but when I do its because they can't play better than me and or they are out of comdidation. And if I do lose they know that they were in a fight. Hey George stay away from teenager those kids can run forever. I played with a group of them a week ago and I'm still tried. What if I may George is saying IF U CAN'T WALK THE WALK. DON'T TALK THE TALK!

When was this artical about politics? Oh yeah never. Normal life is stressful enough to let a little meaningless, sarcastic, and funny artical go to waste over stupid commentors. I laughed when I read this, be it internally, it's like west side story meets basketball diaries meets cribs. Ironic and hilarious.

You know what they say , vote republican before your 30 and you have no heart, vote democrat after 30 and you have no brain, hey Clooney if you had to get up at 4:30 am 6 days a week just to bring home $650 you'd be a republican, guarantee it, you can make $20 million for couple months on movie set so you don't care that liberals rape the paycheck

Clooney I like your ocean eleven movies and brother where art thou and that one were your wife's dying can't remember name at the moment but your backward silly wrong in the real world liberal politics

You guys are missing the entire point of his story. He's saying that people should know what their skill level is before they start boasting. He is chiding Leo DiCaprio for basically just believing his own hype or believing the apparent sycophants who hang around him. I don't think this is a bad message at all. I have to say, I think Clooney is a pretty straight shooter and he doesn't buy into just anything.

Strange how CNN reports this story only focuses on Leo, if I recall there was also a story on Russell Crowe. Nevertheless, Clooney is just being a jack a** always so opionated about his other co-stars. Not a classy thing to do.